Wanted: Someone to take on Matheson

Just a little over a year until Election Day 2008 and no Republican has stepped forward to challenge Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson.

Two legitimate GOP challengers have already announced campaigns against 3rd District Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah. But only silence on the GOP front in the 2nd District.

Republicans used to line up to challenge Matheson, who was first elected in 2000.

One year he had 12 GOP challengers — many of whom had announced the summer before the next year's election, or right about this time in the election cycle.

But with his largest win ever in 2006 — 59 percent to 37 percent over former state GOP Rep. LaVar Christensen — and with Matheson now having by far his largest campaign war chest, nearly $600,000, Republicans are clearly wary of the four-term incumbent.

"We were just talking about this today at party headquarters," Utah GOP vice chairman Todd Weiler said. "There is no one out there right now" on the Republican side.

Salt Lake County GOP chairman James Evans said he also hadn't heard of anyone thinking about running against Matheson.

Weiler said he would like to see Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff or KSL radio talk-show host Doug Wright take on Matheson. But Weiler believes Shurtleff, who just suffered a broken leg that will lay him up for some time, will seek re-election next year — holding out for a governor's race in 2012. And Wright turned down the race in 2006.

Christensen, a millionaire attorney and developer, spent nearly $550,000 of his own money to challenge Matheson last year — only to be rejected by voters.

Matheson has raised about $200,000 more by mid-July this year than he has had by the summer of his other off-election years. A moderate-to-conservative Democrat — he co-chairs the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition of House Democrats — this will be Matheson's first election in the House majority.

That may have helped him in fund raising, Matheson said. But the real reason he's ahead in fund raising this cycle "is because for once (in 2006), I ended a race with a little bit more money in the bank. And, as always, I've been working real hard at raising money."

A son of the late Democratic Gov. Scott M. Matheson, he says he will enter the 2008 race next summer with more money than ever before.